[Free eBook] How We See the Sky: A Naked-Eye Tour of Night and Day by Thomas Hockey [DIY Astronomy Cultural History & Travelogue]

How We See the Sky: A Naked-Eye Tour of Night and Day by Thomas Hockey, a professor of astronomy at University of Northern Iowa and recipient of the Donald E. Osterbrock Book Prize for his science writing, is a DIY astronomy guide cum globe-trotting science and culture history, free for a limited time courtesy of the University of Chicago Press.

This is their featured Free Book of the Month for March.

The book is an accessibly-written and lavishly-illustrated introductory guide to the core concepts of astronomy as seen from a ground-eye view in many locations worldwide, explaining various phenomena such as eclipses and seasons and lunar cycles which are visible without specialized equipment, and exploring their scientific causes and cultural impact in modern times as well as throughout history via anecdotes, literary references, as well as the author’s personal experiences traveling to observe some of them.

Offered worldwide through March, available directly from the university’s website.

[Free eBook] Trojan Orbit by Mack Reynolds & Dean Ing [Science Fiction Mystery Thriller]

Trojan Orbit by the late Mack Reynolds, a prolific multi-genre author who was the first to write an officially licensed Star Trek tie-in novel, & Dean Ing is the 4th novel in the Lagrange series of science fiction mystery/espionage thrillers, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Wildside Press as one of their sporadic weekly giveaways to help promote their Black Cat Mystery Community for vintage pulp mystery/crime thriller reprints.

This was originally published in 1985 by Baen Books and was completed posthumoustly from Reynolds’ drafts by Ing, with the approval of his literary estate. The series takes place in a Cold War-influenced future, with case adventures exploring societal issues and political intrigue afflicting a quasi-utopian international co-op space habitat set at the L5 Lagrange point between the Earth and Moon.

This case sees a fledgling U. S. space colony project succumbing to mysterious malfunctions, accidents, and other unfortunate occurrences, with an Earth detective called in to investigate whether the cause is due to rivalry from unfriendly countries, homegrown anti-technology sabotage, or something even more sinister.

Offered worldwide through April 1st (probably), available DRM-free directly from the publisher.

[Free eBook] The Holiday Swap by Zara Stoneley [Chick Lit Vacation Swap Romantic Comedy]

The Holiday Swap by British author Zara Stoneley is a festive chick lit comedy novel with strong f/m romantic elements, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher HarperCollins’ HarperImpulse imprint.

This is the featured Free Book of the Week in the iTunes UK store.

The story takes place in England and Spain, starring two women from different backgrounds who swap houses for the Christmas holidays to get to away from various disappointments in their lives and undergo the obligatory journey of self-discovery, as one leaves her cozy cottage and her pushy boyfriend to experience sun, fun, and flirtation from a beach-front apartment in Barcelona, and the other relaxes from her high-powered cosmopolitan lifestyle in the snowbound English countryside.

Offered in the UK only, available at multiple retailers.

[Free eBook] Who I Am by Sarah Simpson [Psychological Suspense Thriller]

Who I Am by Cornwall-resident British author Sarah Simpson is a standalone psychological suspense thriller novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Head of Zeus’ Aria imprint.

The story is set in Cornwall, starring a woman whose seemingly perfect family life comes under attack as someone begins to target her, in relation to secrets surrounding a long-ago tragedy involving her best friend from university.

Offered in the UK only, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] Edwardian England, 1901-1915: Society and Politics by Donald Read [Early 20th C History]

Edwardian England, 1901-1915: Society and Politics by the late British author Donald Read, an emeritus Professor of Modern English History at the University of Kent, is an early 20th century British sociopolitical history, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 1972 by The History Book Club.

The book provides an accessibly-written introductory overview with a bit of deeper analysis, aiming to clear up some common misconceptions (circa the 1970s) about the roots and effects of the pivotal changes at the turn of the 20th century as Victorian England rapidly modernized into the Edwardian Era within the shifting national and world political climate and its accompanying societal changes, with chapters devoted to urban/rural labour and class divisions, the scope of the British Empire and its international relations, the increasing rights of women, ongoing issues with Ireland, and the overall state of England leading into World War I.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] Wraith of Vengeance by Edmund Glasby [Horror Mystery Collection]

Wraith of Vengeance by British author Edmund Glasby is a paranormal mystery/horror fiction collection short story collection, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press’ Venture imprint.

This contains six dark tales with horror and speculative/paranormal mystery themes, including stories previously published in various small-press anthologies.

The title piece takes place in Venice, which is experiencing a spate of mysterious drowning deaths of burn victims in the canals, starring an inquisitive tour company adviser looking to plunder the stock of the latest victim, a shady antiques dealer storing his wares on an island abandoned since an outbreak of plague in the Middle Ages, who may just find more than he bargained for.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] The First Ever English Olimpick Games by Celia Haddon [17th C Sports Event History

The First Ever English Olimpick Games by British author Celia Haddon, a journalist and former pet advice columnist for The Daily Telegraph, is a sports event history, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.

This was originally published in 2004 by Hodder & Stoughton.

This gives an account of the Jacobean era attempt to revive the ancient Greek Olympic games as a sporting celebration in the English countryside now known as the Cotswold Olimpick Games, founded by lawyer Robert Dover and sponsored by King James I, as well as its enduring legacy as a recurring event for nearly two centuries, and later revival in the 1950s.

Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.

[Free eBook] Say Nothing by Brad Parks [Psychological Suspense Thriller]

Say Nothing by Brad Parks, a recipient of the Shamus and Nero Awards, is a standalone psychological suspense thriller novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Faber & Faber.

This is the featured Free Book of the Week in the iTunes UK store.

The story is a combined legal and psychological suspense thriller, starring a judge whose young children have been stealth-kidnapped as leverage against an upcoming drug case, about which he must remain silent lest he put their lives as further risk even as he and his wife must work alone to get them back while pretending to outsiders that their lives are going on as normal.

Offered in the UK only, available at multiple retailers.

[Free eBook] The Market Basing Mystery by Agatha Christie [Vintage Mystery Short]

The Market Basing Mystery by the late British author Agatha Christie, a classic mystery writer and holder of the world record for bestselling novelist of all time, is a standalone short story in the Hercule Poirot detective mystery, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Wildside Press, as one of their sporadic weekly giveaways to help promote their Black Cat Mystery Community for vintage pulp mystery/crime thriller reprints.

This was originally published in 1923 in the October 17th issue of The Sketch magazine. The series stars Christie’s most famous sleuth, the eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, occasionally assisted by his English friend, Captain Hastings, some of whose early stories have now finally become public domain in the US.

This story is narrated by Hastings, and sees him, Poirot, and Scotland Yard Inspector Japp enjoying a weekend trip in a small countryside town, only to be interrupted by a local constable’s request for help with the seeming suicide of a reclusive mansion owner.

Offered worldwide through March 25th (probably), available DRM-free directly from the publisher.

[Free eBook] The Girl With A Clockwork Heart by Peter Swanson [Psychological Crime Thriller]

The Girl With A Clockwork Heart by Peter Swanson, a recipient of the New England Book Society Award and finalist for the CWA Steel Dagger, is a contemporary noir psychological crime thriller novel, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Faber & Faber.

This is the featured Free Book of the Week in the iTunes UK store.

The story is a dark and twisted take on a romantic suspense reunion, as twenty years later, a man encounters his old college girlfriend who supposedly committed suicide, only for him to realize then that her true identity had been someone other than she claimed in order to escape her past, who now tells him that he’s the only one who can help her.

Offered in the UK only, available at multiple retailers.